Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Colletion_ Books 6-10 - Laurell K. Hamilton [631]
Olaf stared down at him. “You cannot mean to say that this girl, die Zimtzicke of a girl is better than Bernardo or me.”
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
Die Zimtzicke meant a quarrelsome or bitchy woman. Couldn’t really argue with that one. I sighed. Olaf had hated me before. Now he was going to feel forced to be competitive. This I did not need. And compliment though it was, it was not reassuring to know that Edward fantasized about killing me. Oh, excuse me, hunting me while I was armed to see which of us was better. Oh, yeah, that was much more sane.
I checked my watch. It was 1:30 A.M. “Frankly, boys, I don’t know whether to be flattered or frightened, but I do know one thing. It’s late, and I’m tired. If we are really going to see the big bad vampire tonight, then it has to be now.”
“You just don’t want to look at the pictures tonight,” Edward said.
I shook my head. “No, not just before trying to sleep. I don’t even want to read the forensic reports tonight. I’ll look at the gory remains first thing tomorrow.”
“Afraid,” Olaf said.
I met his angry eyes. “I need some sleep if I’m to function well while I’m here. If I see the pictures right before bedtime, I can’t guarantee sleep.”
He turned back to Edward. “Your soul mate is a coward.”
“No, she’s just honest.”
“Thank you, Edward.” I went to stand closer to Olaf, so that I had to crane my neck back to see his face, and he loomed over me. There was really no way to get decent eye contact, so I stepped back to a more comfortable angle for my neck, and settled for meeting his deep-set eyes. “If I’d been a man I’d have probably felt compelled to look at the pictures, to prove myself worthy of all Edward’s praise. But one of the good things about being a woman is that my level of testosterone poisoning is lower than most men’s.”
“Testosterone poisoning?” Olaf looked confused. Probably not a new sensation for him.
“Show me to my room, then explain it to him, Edward. I want to get some extras if I’m going to be interviewing vamps tonight.”
Edward led me past the brooding Olaf and out the door that everyone seemed to disappear through. The hallway was white and so unadorned it looked unfinished. He pointed out Bernardo’s room as the first door and Olaf’s was right beside mine.
“Do you really think Olaf and I bunking next door to each other is a good idea?”
“By putting you right beside him, it shows him I’m not afraid for you.”
“But I am,” I said.
He smiled. “Just take some basic precautions. You’ll be fine.”
“Nice to know one of us is confident. If you hadn’t noticed, he outweighs me by like a ton.”
“You’re talking like it would be a standup fight. I know you, Anita. If Olaf comes through your door tonight, you’ll just shoot him.”
I studied his face. “Are you setting him up so I will kill him?”
He blinked, and I saw for a moment that I’d surprised him. “No, no. I meant what I said to Olaf. If I wanted him dead, I’d just kill him. I put you next door to him because I know how he thinks. He’ll think it’s a trap, too easy, and he’ll behave himself tonight.”
“What about tomorrow night?”
Edward shrugged. “One night at a time.”
I shook my head and opened the door. Edward called to me before I could go inside or even turn on the light. I turned back to face him.
“You know most women get all mushy when a man tells them they’re his soul mate.”
“I’m not most women.”
His smile widened. “Amen to that.”
I looked at him. “You know what you said in there scares me. The thought that you fantasize about hunting me and killing me. That’s creepy, Edward.”
“Sorry,” he said, but he was still smiling, still amused.
“But honestly if you’d said the soul mate stuff and meant it like lovey-dovey, that could have scared me more. I’ve known since we met that you might kill me some day, but fall in love with me . . . that would be just too weird.”
The smile faded a notch or two. “You know if we could love each other, our lives would